


Mr. and Mrs. Spy

by Measured, ZoisiteMoon



Series: Kidfic [2]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst, Attempted Suicide, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Death, Childbirth, F/M, Kidfic (Fanverse), Mass Suicide, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Pre-Canon, Pre-Game(s), Unplanned Pregnancy, prequel to kidfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-01-06 16:15:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12214350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Measured/pseuds/Measured, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoisiteMoon/pseuds/ZoisiteMoon
Summary: [Prequel to "Something New."] Picture it: Normandy, 1938. Spy meets this hot Italian lady who will not only challenge him in more ways than one, but change his life forever. Meanwhile, there's a group of Italian criminals who will do everything they can to destroy everything in their path. Rated M for mentions of rape and whatnot.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel to that story Mia and I are working on still. I figured while the rest of that story was still resting comfortably in development hell, I'd get this first chapter out of the way. Also, there's a good chance I might work on the rest of this during NaNoWriMo.
> 
> Since Mia came up with this idea first, though, it only seems fair that I should make her co-author. (Besides, we're practically partners for life at this point.)
> 
> And while we're at it, [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRHZ2M4XsjDeE3cfjjTifD6Lx9x10DbtE)'s the playlist I'm putting together.
> 
> And [here](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12668535/1/Mr-and-Mrs-Spy)'s this fanfic on FFN.
> 
> Oh, one more thing: while Spy does give out his real name here, he will not be referred to as such for the rest of the fic. He does go by many names, after all.
> 
> Alright, enjoy!

_February 16th, 1938_

At now just twenty years old, he was already well on his way to mastering the fine art of killing. A Frenchman by birth and a drifting spy in occupation, he intended to wander through Europe for many years and... well, that was all he planned to do as far as he was concerned. The only one holding him back was Adele, his mother who'd made a profession of being a courtesan for many years. He had no idea who his father was; he'd been killed during the Great War before he was born. According to Adele, he'd also been married to another woman but that's all he really knew about him.

Well, anyway, he was off to infiltrate a monastery that was supposedly housing some of the most corrupt monastics in Bassac, Charente. From what he'd managed to gather, the nuns living there had decided to partake in plotting to kidnap children and train them into God's ultimate soldiers. He'd heard a rumor from another spy that these soldiers of God were supposed to kickstart another crusade of epic proportions into Jerusalem; naturally, he'd decided that he would be the one to stop them.

However, on his way to the monastery, as if out of nowhere, one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen appeared before him and pulled out a handgun. He fell in love almost instantly. Her radiant olive skin and spectacularly scarlet red hair made her stand out against the magnificent backdrop of the French landscape, which was fortunately saturated with all the vibrant shades of green in the world.

"Who do you think you are?" the woman growled at him.

"I'm a spy like I presume you are," he replied. "What are you doing here anyhow?"

"I'm here to stop these nuns from turning the children into soldiers of God."

"So am I."

The woman just stared at him while she lowered her gun. "I see... well, then. I guess I have no choice but to kill you."

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. I have to kill you before you can compromise my career."

"I'm not here to compromise anything."

"Prove it."

He came forward and pulled her into an embrace, which unsurprisingly managed to throw her off-guard. She wanted to fight him off, but for some reason, she just stood there and let him kiss her. It would have to do for now.

* * *

The next day, he went off to see the woman again. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He didn't need another woman in his life right now; he had Adele to take care. Poor Adele. She was always coming down with something, whether it was a venereal disease equivalent to syphilis or something as mundane as the flu. He couldn't even imagine what would happen if he came home and he found her dead at the table.

The woman managed to spot him immediately and, without even so much as a "Hello," slapped him across the face.

" _Mon Dieu!_ " he exclaimed. "Is that the way you greet a man you just met?"

"How could you force yourself on me like you did yesterday? I could kill you right now if it weren't for my conscience!"

"Are you Italian, perchance?"

The red-haired woman gasped softly at this. "How did you know? Was it the way I slapped you?"

"Yes."

She instantly calmed down. "Forgive me. My temper can get the best of me sometimes. The name's Jacqueline. What about you?"

"I go by many names, but you can call me Henri."

Jacqueline found herself smirking at this. "Hmm... what a quaint little name. You're a quaint man, aren't you?"

He slightly chuckled at this. "'Quaint,' I think, is a bit of an understatement. Would you like to go out sometime?"

"I would say I have plans, but sure. Why not?"

"Then it's settled. We'll meet up tomorrow night right here. Sound good to you?"

"Sounds good to me."


	2. Chapter 2

The next night, the Frenchman made good on his promise and met up with Jacqueline again. She couldn't have looked any more beautiful if she tried. She was wearing a dark green masquerade mask adorned with emeralds along the curves, a dark green evening dress that seemed to glide off the ground, and matching heels with a sharp point where her toes met.

"It's a little late for Valentine's Day, you know," Jacqueline said.

"Well, certainly, but I'd hope it wouldn't be for chivalry."

The Italian woman couldn't help but laugh while her entire face was enveloped in a rosy hue. "You're such a clever young fox... so do you want to know where we're going?"

"I do, actually, tell me..."

She looked around for a bit before leaning in. "I hear there's going to be a special guest at the Masquerade Ball. That's why I decided to use this outfit to go undercover." She then looked him up and down. "You'll stick out like a sore thumb without a color-coordinated outfit. Why don't I take you to see Lea the tailor? I'm sure she'll know what to do with you..."

"That's fine. I was planning to get some more clothes anyway..."

* * *

When they'd finally arrived, they couldn't help but notice just how many people were here at this prestigious event. Most of these ball guests were fellow Gallics like the young spy himself, but every now and then, you could spot a foreigner among them. The Frenchman was wearing a navy blue suit, complete with a matching tie and a mask that had sapphires around its border.

"So..." the spy began. "Is there anything you want to do while we're here?"

"Actually," Jacqueline replied. "There is something I need to do..."

"Oh?"

Jacqueline pointed to a bronze-skinned man with dark hair and a slightly muscular build, who appeared to be in his late forties and wearing a dark green suit and tie along with a mask that was almost identical to hers. "You see that man over there? That's Luigi Emmanuel, the leader of the Uomini Verde and one of Benito Mussolini's right-hand men."

"Now that you mention it, yes, I do see him. But what would he be doing here?"

"That's what I'm going to find out. I've actually hated him for a long time, even before I got into espionage."

"So what exactly do you plan to do with him when you catch him?"

"There are no words to properly describe how much I hate Luigi and everything he stands for, but with that said, I might ask him a few questions about his involvement with Mussolini and whether the Uomini Verde are planning something big."

"What if he doesn't cooperate?"

Jacqueline thought about this for a second before answering, "Then I might have to force the answers out of him."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

She gave off an impish smirk. "Maybe... do you want to help me?"

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

"Well, let's go, then!"

They snuck off to a corner of the ballroom, hoping that the man they were targeting wouldn't notice them straight away. So far, so good. The spy didn't notice anything inherently off about this Italian man, but if Jacqueline really did hate him with every fiber of her being, then what could he have possibly done that was so utterly reprehensible to her? He had to find out.

All of a sudden, he couldn't help but feel a sneeze coming on and so he acted on it.

"Hmm?" Luigi sounded while he turned to see what it was. "I could've sworn I heard something." He made his way over to where Jacqueline and her partner were. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"Nice job, _coglione_ ," she muttered dryly.

"I don't believe we've met," Luigi continued. "Would you mind telling me who you are and what you're doing at the masquerade ball?"

Jacqueline and her partner looked at each other with uncertainty. They had to think of an alias and fast. "Well," she began. "I'm Angelica Santi and the man beside me is Spartaco Lombardi."

"Those are... some interesting names. Anyway, it was nice meeting you. I hope you're having a lovely evening tonight." Luigi started walking away before Jacqueline proceeded to grab ahold of his wrist. "What the? What are you doing?!"

"What are you and the Uomini Verde up to, Luigi?" Jacqueline asked calmly. "I want answers now!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Yes you do, _zoccola!_ Now tell me!"

"I don't think it's working..." the Frenchman tried to reason with her. "Shall we go with Plan B?"

"Not yet!" she growled in a hushed tone. "I want to see if I can get anything out of him first." She leaned forward and started wrapping her arms around Luigi's neck.

"Let go of me, you undignified hussy!" Luigi yelled out as Jacqueline tried to put him in a stranglehold.

His words fell on deaf ears, however, and so she threw him down to the ground and started twisting his wrists backwards. He got up before she could inflict further damage and threw her across the ballroom. She was rather taken aback by this, to say the least.

"Is that the best you can do?" Jacqueline taunted him. She then got back up and pulled out a pocket knife. "Come at me, _stronzo!_ "

He gladly accepted her offer and rushed forward, knocking the knife out of her hands and pinning her to the ground. He wasn't able to hold her down for long, however, when she was quick to shove her foot into his balls and knee him in the chest.

"A little help here?!" Jacqueline yelled out to her partner.

He ran over with almost superhuman speed to where Jacqueline and Luigi were fighting and, without even really thinking, booted the Italian man in the head. He was knocked out almost instantly.

"Are you all right?" the Frenchman asked gently.

"I am now," Jacqueline murmured under her breath.

"Good... let's get out of here. This evening has turned out horrible enough."

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's just go..."

* * *

The entire time they were making their way over to Jacqueline's flat, they didn't speak a word to each other nor did they even make an effort to look at each other. When they'd finally made their way to her door, they finally managed an awkward gaze.

Jacqueline let out a heavy sigh and said, "I'm sorry I acted like I did, my _sorbettino_. I was just so caught up in the moment that I didn't even know what I was doing. This is no way for a lady to act..."

"No need to apologize..." her partner replied. "You did what you thought was right. I'm proud of you..."

"Thank you, _innamorato_. You know just what to say..." She gave him a peck on the cheek and fixed his tie for him. "In hindsight, though, perhaps I should've warned him that I was going to resort to torture if he didn't respond."

"I think you should've, too, but we seem to make a pretty good team, don't we?"

"Yeah, we do... when we're fighting. I wonder if that's still true between the sheets..." A smirk etched itself onto her face as an idea came to her. "Would you mind staying with me for the night?"

He shrugged at this. "Sure, why not?"

"Well, come on in. We're going to have some fun!"

She took him by the hand and led him inside her flat and then into her bedroom. Once inside, they both started stripping down until they were no longer wearing anything.

Jacqueline couldn't help but blush intensely when she caught a glimpse of his penis. "It's so beautiful..." she whimpered with glee.

"Not to brag, but thank you," he said. "Now are we going to just stand here or are we actually going to do it?"

She eyed the bed beside her. "I think doing it sounds much better to me, doesn't it you?" Before he could answer her, she pushed down onto the bed and started kissing him aggressively and passionately. He wasn't really sure what was suddenly making her horny, but he honestly didn't care since at least something good was coming out of this night.

"Oh, Jackie..." he moaned while she kissed him. "...that feels nice." It wasn't long before he began orgasming from the kisses. "Please... don't stop."

"Don't worry..." she responded. "I won't."

She reached down and began to jerk him off, making him zone out in pure ecstasy as she did so. His orgasms intensified as her hand continued to stroke his member and progressively harden it until it was solid like a diamond.

"Oh mon Dieu!" he yelled out. "Mon Dieu, mon Dieu! Please, for the love of God, don't stop!"

"You want to take this even higher?"

The Frenchman shakily nodded his head.

She smiled at this and said, "Okay... the die is cast." She slid herself through his manhood, lock and key. With that done, they started to embrace each other again and grind so hard into the bed that they were knocking off pillows left and right. They moaned incessantly as they humped the hell out of each other for the next half-hour. "Mmm... that's very good... keep going! Fuck me! Fuck me like one of your French girls!"

"I'm fucking you as fast as I can!" he cried. "Oh, oh, oh! I'm going to cum!"

"Then do it!"

And with that, he let out an orgasmic scream and came inside her.

"Oh mio Dio..." she muttered when they wrapped up. "That was fantastic, didn't you think so?"

"Yes, exactly," he replied. "Mind if I stay with you for the night?"

"Not at all. Just don't break any of my stuff while you're here, okay?"

"Will do, Jackie blue."


	3. Chapter 3

Jacqueline came to to find that her French companion was still completely nude and sleeping in her bed. She couldn't help but notice how cute it seemed that he was curling up with one of her pillows and, without even so much as hesitating, decided to lie down next to him and watch him sleep. She would've stayed that way for a while, too, had he not suddenly opened his eyes and caught sight of her looking at him.

She jumped up and cleared her throat. "Oh... um, good morning. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Oui..." he replied. "The best I've slept in a long time..."

"Good." She glanced over at her alarm clock and let out a quiet gasp when she saw the time.

"What is it?"

"It's twelve o'clock..."

He yawned while starting to lay back down. "At night? What are you doing up that late?"

"No, it's noon."

He scrambled out of bed as soon as she'd said that. "Why didn't you say anything?! I need to get home and make sure Mother is okay! Only God knows what she might be doing right now."

"Mother?" Jacqueline asked while she watched him get dressed. "This is the first time I've heard you say anything about having a mother..."

"Oh... right. I should've said something earlier, but my mother is sick. Terribly sick. It's from working late nights around street corners."

"And what exactly has she been doing around those corners that's gotten her so sick?"

"She's sold her body to men for sex." By this time, he was finally done dressing himself and was just getting ready to leave. "She's a prostitute."

"Ah... I see." While she watched him make his way for the door, she got an idea. "Hold on a second. I want to do something real quick before you go."

His back was turned to her. "Yes?"

She stood up and gave his ass a nice open-handed slap. She then pressed her naked breasts against his back while wrapping her arms around his body. In a flash, she smirked and leaned into his ear and whispered, "We should really do this again sometime."

"Yes. Yes, we should." And with that, he was out of there.

* * *

_December 23rd, 1938_

Christmas was right around the corner, and he’d yet to buy her anything, much less something with sentimental value to her and her alone. He knew that she had some rather expensive tastes for a woman who hailed from a rural part of Italy, especially when she’d grown up on a farm run by her mother and stepfather, but he didn’t want to let her down. After all, they were both twenty-one now and he was hoping they would both be ready to take their relationship to the next level. However, he was perfectly fine with staying where they were just as long as there was nothing out there that tried to separate them. He was about to turn around a corner of the street when he suddenly bumped into Jacqueline again.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my dear _sorbettino_ ,” she said coyly. “How have you been these past days?”

“You know how I’ve been, Jackie,” he answered. “We’ve been going out every day this month.”

“I know, I was just teasing you…” She then leaned forward. “So did you get me anything yet?”

It was right then and there that he froze up like a deer in headlights. He wasn’t quite sure what to tell her.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” she asked loudly enough to snap him back to reality.

“I-It’s nothing, really,” he replied. “I just haven’t thought of what to get you yet.”

“Then why did you freeze like that?”

There was a slight pause after that. “Well, I noticed you had a volatile temper when we first met…”

“...so you were worried I’d get upset if you showed up empty-handed?”

“Yes! Are you?”

“A little bit, but if it makes you feel any better, I don’t have anything for you either.” Out of the blue, she noticed a man in a grayish-green military uniform walking along the same street they were on. “Quickly! We need to hide!”

At first, the Frenchman had no idea what she was talking about until he turned his head to see that same man walking along to his destination… wherever it was. The man seemed to be rambling to himself about something, but he could barely make out what it was, except for one thing: “All this land would make a great Christmas present for my dear leader Benito Mussolini.” He wasn’t sure what to make of it, but at the same time, he couldn’t just ignore it either.

“Jackie?” he asked _sotto voce_.

“Yes, Henri?” she asked back.

“Did you hear what he just said?”

“Yes, I heard it, too. If Mussolini gets involved, this could be catastrophic not just for us, but for all of France. I hear the Nazis have been planning to do the same as well.”

“Was that man, by any chance, part of the Uomini Verdi?”

“He’s got the uniform for it, but I’m not entirely sure. We’re going to have to follow him and see what he’s up to…”

* * *

For two hours, Jacqueline and her partner followed the uniformed man wherever he went, whether it was to a bathroom or simply a small cafe. Finally, just when they felt like they weren’t going anywhere with their little investigation, they managed to catch a break. They watched in the shadows as the uniformed man climbed up a flight of spiral-shaped stairs to greet his boss, who happened to be none other than Luigi himself.

“I knew it!” Jacqueline growled under her breath.

She kept quiet after that. Neither she nor her partner wanted to miss a single word Luigi or his crony said.

“Did you manage to scope out every inch of this country?” Luigi asked the uniformed man.

“Yes, sir,” he replied. “Every single inch. It took me a while, but I did it.”

“Good. We must not make haste. Tomorrow, we strike…”

Jacqueline and her partner both gasped at this. So it was true… they really were planning to conquer France.

“We have to stop them…” she told her partner.

“How?” he asked of her. “We are only two people. Luigi probably has hundreds of men at his disposal. There’s no possible way we could fight them all without exhausting ourselves.”

At that moment, an idea came to her. “Maybe we won’t have to. Follow me.” She grabbed her partner by the hand and led him to another room that was the size of an abandoned warehouse. Sure enough, there were hundreds and hundreds of men who all wore the same grayish-green military uniform, and they all seemed to be idly going about their business without a care in the world. Most of them looked like they were about to doze off, which made this a perfect opportunity for Jacqueline and her partner to murder them all in one go.

“Ready to do this?” she asked him sweetly.

“Ready when you are,” he replied.

“Alright, then. Let’s do this.”

“Yes, let’s.”

Jacqueline was the first one to do the job. She pulled out a razor and swiped it across an Uomo Verdi’s throat. Before he even realized what was happening, the unfortunate man found himself profusely bleeding from a horizontal cut along his neck and died within moments of hitting the ground. The Frenchman followed her lead and produced a razor of his own, which he used to slit another Uomo Verdi’s throat and leave him for dead. Soon, they were furtively killing off Luigi’s goons one by one up until they reached the last man alive.

“What do you have to say for yourself now, green man?” Jacqueline asked him in a mocking tone.

The Italian man couldn’t bring himself to speak in her presence, especially when she and her partner had already offed his comrades. He lifted his chin up and sighed, giving her permission to kill him right then and there.

Jacqueline was rather surprised to see a fellow Uomo Verdi surrender himself so quickly. Nevertheless, she gave him what he wanted: a quick and painless death with only seconds to spare.

“Alright, _innamorato_ ,” she called out to her partner. “We’re done here!”

“Fantastic!” he called back to her. “Now he’ll have no army to back him up!”

Jacqueline then proceeded to laugh her ass off and cry out, “This’ll be the best Christmas ever, at least for us!”

* * *

_January 1st, 1939_

“I hope you’re enjoying the new year so far, my dear _sorbettino_ ,” Jacqueline said sweetly. “The 1930s are almost over with, can you believe that?”

“No...” her partner answered her. “It only seemed like yesterday that we’d just left the 1920s.”

“Well, no matter what decade we’re in, I can assure you that our love will be stronger than it was before.”

“I certainly hope so.” There was a brief pause after that. “I can’t help but find it odd that you’ve been talking about Luigi possibly rubbing shoulders with the Nazis. I wonder why...”

She looked around at the surroundings and then leaned in. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, that Italy might be in an alliance with Germany and Japan?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, but why?”

“I heard through the grapevine that Japan is offering them ten thousand yen and hundreds of pounds in imitation Australium if they win the war.”

“A likely story. And just what exactly is imitation Australium?”

“It’s a metal called Hokkaidum, which is mined from- where else? - the Japanese island of Hokkaido. I hear it’s what gave Japan the resources it needs to run as a country without interference from other nations.”

“No wonder they call it imitation Australium.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I fear that we might be dealing with forces much bigger than the Uomini Verdi, especially when Nazis are concerned.”

“How are we supposed to stop them by ourselves?”

“If we could kill Luigi’s forces in one go, I bet we could do the same with the Nazis and Tojo’s troops.”

“I should hope so... I can’t imagine how much destruction they could leave in their wake.”

"Me neither."


	4. Chapter 4

Seven months after their last encounter, the Frenchman and the Italian woman were swiftly reunited and proceeded to greet each other like old friends would do.

"It's been way too long, _innamorato_ ," she said when they were together again. "Did you miss me when we were apart?"

"I most certainly did," he responded. "Did you?"

"I would be lying if I said I didn't..."

"Thank God. I haven't stopped thinking of you for a week..."

"Me neither... so what are your plans today?"

"My... plans?"

"Yes, what do you want to do today?"

"I figured now would be the perfect time to introduce you to my family."

Jacqueline's eyes widened at this. "Really? But we haven't seen each other in seven months..."

"I know... it's just that I've talked about you so much and Mother seems to have approved, at least from what she's hearing."

"But we've been apart for _seven months!_ "

"Trust me, it'll be fine."

"If you say so..."

* * *

The young spy was so excited. He was going to show Jacqueline to his entire family. She was beautiful and had a sharp-as-a-knife wit, and don't even get him started on her makeup or her wardrobe! Damn, he was already getting aroused just thinking about it. He had to keep that to himself, however. If Adele or anyone else in the family knew how much Jackie gave him a boner, he'd never hear the end of it.

So anyway, he was leading Jacqueline by the hand across several streets and pathways, all while people blurred through them and seemed to vanish into nothing. He adored this woman so much... he'd do anything in the world to protect her, even if it costed him his own life. He had a good feeling about her, about them, about the life he could see himself having. Everybody else could burn in Hell for all they cared. He kept looking back at her along the way. He had to remind himself how beautiful she was in all her Italian glory, especially after all the sex they'd had last time. Mon Dieu, that was amazing.

"So..." Jacqueline finally spoke up. "Are we almost there yet?"

"Yes," he replied. "We are. Just be patient."

"Alright, if you say so..."

She proceeded to keep her mouth shut the rest of the way. Eventually, they managed to get to their destination: a plaster white chateau that was somewhat tiny compared to the flats surrounding it. If she had to be honest, Jacqueline wasn’t quite sure what to make of it or him for that matter. Still, if he was this willing to show her to his family, she could only imagine how willing he’d be to show her everything he had.

His mother Adele was the very first of his family that she came across. She had extremely pale skin and a gaunt figure to her that made her look like she was a walking skeleton covered only with skin and clothes. Her light blonde hair was choppy and short, her face was slender and looked to have aged so much that she looked to be in her late sixties (she was actually only forty-three!), her eyes were horribly sunken in and baggy, her icy blue eyes were horribly bloodshot, and her lips were spotted with cold sores along the left corner.

Next up was his first cousin once removed, Cesar. He and Adele could’ve easily passed for brother and sister with their similar elongated faces, blonde hair and blue eyes respectively, and this was all thanks to their parents being two sets of identical twins (their fathers were identical twin brothers who married identical twin sisters). He had a bit of a five-o'clock shadow going on, but it didn't seem to have grown enough to be too noticeable.

Then there was Cesar's young Spaniard wife, Adoracion (Adora for short). She had a bronze tan complexion, light brown hair, and pretty brown eyes that were as dark as chocolate. The left side of her face was covered in copious amounts of scar tissue, which extended to the bridge of her nose and the left corner of her lips. There was a small but fairly noticeable scar on the right side of her forehead.

Following Adora was her oldest daughter Delphine. She was fair-skinned like her father and her hair was a bright chestnut brown shaped into an even bob. Her eyes were a gunmetal blue like her father’s and her face was shorter and rounder like her mother’s. Her skin was practically flawless, inside and out, and her lips were as thick as her index finger.

After Delphine was her sister Honore. She was tan like her mother with hair that veered closer to being blonde like her father's hair. Her eyes were chocolate brown like her mother's and her face was as slender as her father’s but plumper like her mother’s face.

Finally, there was Montague, Cesar and Adora’s only son. He’d only been born a few weeks ago, and yet he was taking after his father. He had a blond tuft of hair sticking out of his head and his eyes were as gray as gunpowder.

“Cousin, cousin!” Cesar exclaimed in his heavy French accent. “Last time I saw you, you looked like a broken baguette!”

“Cesar, please,” his cousin replied. “Not in front of my lady.”

“No, no, it’s quite alright. No need to be embarrassed. You just brought over a girl, that’s all.”

“Excuse me,” Jacqueline cut in. “Mind if I join in? I’m Jacqueline Russo and I’ve been stalking Luigi Emmanuel for a while.”

“Who’s that?” Delphine asked out of curiosity.

“He’s only the head of the Uomini Verdi, one of the biggest criminals in Italy right now. I don’t exactly know what he’s planning to do...” She turned to face her partner. “...but dear Henri is going to help me find out, isn’t that right?”

Everyone else turned to look at him as well.

He cleared his throat. “Yes, that’s right,” he answered. “And nothing you say or do will change our minds, got it?”

“I... I guess so,” Adele said. “Just make sure you don’t get yourself killed. I’ve had to rely on you and our cousins all my life and I’ll be damned if I have to find someone else who might use me again.”

“Thank you, _Signora_ LeCroix. Might I ask where your husband is, by the way?”

“Oh...” There was only silence after that. It took her roughly a minute before she could speak again. “I’ve never had a husband in my life. There was only one man who ever loved me for me and that was his father. Unfortunately, he was already married to another woman and he’d had three children with her, no less.”

“So where is he now?”

“He’s dead. He took a blast to the face during the Great War and... he died.” She then broke down, weeping her eyes. “If only he knew he’d left me someone to remember him by...”

Jacqueline let out a soft but audible gasp. _Oh mio Dio..._ her beloved was a bastard child, as was she. Perhaps Fate had been trying to bring them together all along, but no. That could’ve only been a coincidence... right? She turned to look at her partner. “Is this true?”

“Sadly, yes,” he replied.

“I’m sorry… I know this must be hard for you…”

“It is.”

“I wish there was something I could do for you…”

* * *

Later that day, Jacqueline climbed up to the roof and spotted her partner sitting down near the edge. She couldn’t help but notice the stoic expression on his face, and she proceeded to sit down next to him. The view from up here was rather remarkable.

“Are you okay?” she asked him. “Your mother seemed rather upset about what happened to your father…”

“She’s been upset for a long time,” he replied. “You heard what she said back inside. He was the only man who loved her for who she was and not just because she was a prostitute. Such a shame, then, that they couldn’t be together.”

“So they were star-crossed lovers?”

“Yes, I suppose you could say that.”

"My parents never had that issue when they were first seeing each other. In fact, they’re still together today. Only thing is... my father isn’t really my father.”

His eyes widened at this. “He’s not?”

She shook her head. “No. My real father’s still out there. I just need to find him.”

“I see…” He put his arm around her shoulders. “Well, no matter what happens, we have each other and we always will.”

“Always?”

“Yes, always.”


End file.
